Question

How do I get started using the Box for Gmail app?

Answer

Please see this article on how to install the Box for Gmail app.

Using the Box for Gmail app, you can perform 2 types of actions: (1) Save a Gmail attachment to Box; (2) Send a Shared Link to a Box file in your Gmail

First time setup

The first time you save an attachment to Box, after clicking the Box icon in the side pane, you will need to Log in to Box. To do this:

1. Click the Box icon
2. Click LOG IN
3. Enter your NetID@nd.edu and leave the password field blank and click the Authorize button
4. You will be redirected to Notre Dame’s Okta login screen. Enter your Notre Dame NetID and password (for your NetID, do not add the @nd.edu)
5. For security, you will be asked to approve via Okta's 2-step process
6. You may also need to click the button to Grant access to Box. Please grant this access

You should only have these extra steps the *first time* you try to save an email attachment to Box. It’s the final setup item.

Save a Gmail attachment to Box

When you get an attachment in your Gmail, there is no need to download the file, then upload it to Box. You can save the attachment directly to your Notre Dame box.nd.edu account.

1. For any attachment(s) you have in Gmail, while the email with the attachment is open (i.e. you are viewing the email), click the Box icon to the far right (in the side pane).
2. To show or hide the side pane in Gmail, click the > or < icon in the bottom right.
3. When you click the Box icon on the side pane, you should see information about the attachment(s) found and be presented with the option to save the attachment(s) and save the email as a .txt file. See image below
4. To save the attachment, click the Save Attachments link and you will see a list of all your Box folders at the All Files level.
5. You can navigate through your folder structure and save the attachment to the Box folder that you want.
6. If you want the email that contains the attachment(s), you can click the link to Save Email as .txt file. Again, navigate to the folder that you want to save the email.
7. You can click the X in the Box side pane when done saving the attachment(s) and email.

This is how you can save email attachments directly to your Notre Dame Box account from within Gmail.

Send a Shared Link to a Box file in your Gmail

First, please note that you are not attaching a file(s); you are giving the person a shared link to the file(s). If you are unfamiliar with shared links, please see this article. for best practices on using Box shared links. Please review the article if you plan to make the access level be the most open - People with the link.

1. Follow your normal process to Compose a new email. In the Gmail you are sending, you will see a new icon at the bottom of the email, the Box icon
   
   
   
2. Click the Box icon
3. A new window appears showing you the All Files page in your Box account
4. Navigate to the file you want to share with the email recipient(s)
5. Click the file and you will see a screen similar to the below
   
6. Be sure to review the Share Link Permissions for the file (see more on these options below) before completing the next step
7. Click the Insert File link
8. You can choose another file(s) to include. Once done, click the X to close the Box for Gmail window and you should see the file(s) listed in your Gmail message
9. If you insert the wrong file, simply hover over the image in Gmail and a small x will appear in the upper right. Click the X to remove the link from the Gmail. Please note, if you change the Shared Link setting, that will change the setting for that link even if you then remove the file.
10. People receiving the email with the link will have access depending on who they are and what the Shared Link setting is for that file(s).

Be sure to review your Share Link Permissions (above, circled in red) before clicking the Insert File link

In order to share this file with another person(s), the Shared Link permission needs to be correctly set. There are 3 Shared Links settings

• People in this folder/file. Only people who are collaborators in the file will have access to the document
• People in the company. Anyone with an @nd.edu address will have access to the document
• People with the link. Anyone who gets access to the link will have access to the document. This can be people inside or outside Notre Dame

Note for people in the company and people with the link - this does not mean the document is searchable on the web, but it does mean that email recipients can now share the file with anyone who may fit the access level of People in the company or People with the link.

Example: if you send a Shared Link via this new Box for Gmail process for a file to John with his @nd.edu address, and the access level you choose for the link is ‘People in the company’, this means John can now share this link with Jill and Jackie in his department. Jill and Jackie would have access to the file due to the Shared Link setting being ‘People in the company’.

You just need to be aware what changing the Shared Link setting means. It may be perfectly fine that John shares the Shared Link with others in his office or it may not. It’s your decision when you share a link to a Box file when sending an email via this process.

Important: If you change the Shared Link setting via Box for Gmail, this WILL CHANGE the Shared Link setting in Box for this file. Example: the file currently has a setting, in box.nd.edu, as ‘People in this folder/file’. In the email you are sending, you are sending to a person with a non-@nd.edu account. For that person to have access, you change the Shared Link setting to ‘People with the link’. This file now is set to ‘People with the link’ in box.nd.edu

Now, this is no different than if you have gone into box.nd.edu, highlighted the file, clicked the Share button to the right of the folder, and changed the Shared Link setting.

Finally note, the file(s) you are sending, because you are using a Shared Link, are not editable by that person. The recipient(s) cannot change your file in box.nd.edu. They are not collaborators; they are people who have a link to VIEW the file(s).